Background:

Sexual disorders can affect up to 60% of all men and women over their lifetimes. Despite the high prevalence of these disorders, very few pharmacological treatments are available and those currently on the market are primarily targeted toward the physical rather than the psychological component of these conditions. As a striking example, while the blockbuster drug Viagra can successfully treat the physical aspects of male erectile dysfunction, not a single pharmaceutical treatment exists to directly treat decreased libido in men or women; a condition that affects up to 50% of the population during their lifetime. Similarly, there is a strong market need for pharmaceuticals to control disorders such as sex addiction, which according to The National Council on Sexual Addiction Compulsivity affects between 16 – 21.5 million Americans.

Furthermore, while it is well known that gonadal hormones such as testosterone, estrogen, and progesterone regulate aspects of sexual and aggression behaviors in both men and women, little is known on a molecular level of how hormonal and other factors influence neural circuits in the brain to control such behaviors. Therefore, in order to diagnose, monitor, and treat the high incidence of sexual disorders, it is imperative to uncover the genes that act in the brain to control these behaviors.  

Inventions:

UCSF scientists have discovered four genes in the mouse brain that control distinct sexual and aggression behaviors in males and females. Of particular commercial significance, female libido can be modulated by the knockout or pharmaceutical manipulation of one of these genes. The other three genes control important behaviors such as patterning and probability of male sexual behavior and aggression. Studies are ongoing to identify further pharmacological modulators of all four genes.

In addition, the screen that successfully identified the four genes with behavioral phenotypes has uncovered an additional thirteen genes with dimorphic expression patterns in the mouse brain. The scientific team is currently measuring the behavioral effects of modulating the expression of these genes to identify further targets for drug intervention.  

File Number: 20712 

Web site: http://techtransfer.universityofcalifornia.edu/...

Disease: Central Nervous System

Other Information:

Patent Information

A provisional US patent application was filed on Jan 26, 2010.